April 26, 2006	Wednesday	Rabi-ul-Awwal 27, 1427

LONDON, April 25: The British energy firm BP said on Tuesday that first-quarter net profit sank by 15.0 per cent as it continued to suffer from last year’s hurricane damage to US oil installations, and the shutdown of its biggest refinery.

Net profit sank to $5.623bn in the three months to March 31, compared with $6.602bn during the same period last year, the group said in an official earnings release. BP blamed the profits drop on lower production following 2005’s devastating US Gulf Coast hurricanes.—AFP